Have to Fit Some Fun In!

And the holiday season is upon us! I didn't think that the busiest time of the year would also apply for the dog yard, but it seems as if I have even more to do. With the racer's departure date quickly closing, the kennel is in full swing. We have intense training sessions, lots of organizing, and all sorts of planning to figure out. Since I only have a few more weeks of freedom, however, I'm trying to get in some fun time as well.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, I went down to Colorado College to visit my friend, Laura. A long weekend away of hockey, pottery lessons, cooking crepes, and tons of laughter was a great way to unwind. A few days after I got back, Laura came up to Glenwood to spend the holidays with me.
Bill and Jodi were kind enough to invite us to have Thanksgiving dinner with them and some of their friends. Everyone contributed different dishes, with Lo and I cooking dinner rolls, beets and sweet potatoes, butternut squash souffle, pumpkin cranberry bread, and chocolate cream pie. Needless to say, my house smelled awesome for days!
The day after Thanksgiving, Christmas took over. I wanted to take advantage of an extra set of hands and get a tree. Colorado doesn't have Christmas Tree Farms like Vermont; instead, I had to go to the Forest Service and get a permit for cutting in designated areas. Laura and I spent an hour tramping through 3 feet of snow looking for a good tree up in Four-Mile Park. We ended up with a short little pine that definitely needed some love. The rest of the night was devoted to decorating and dogs.
And then came Saturday: ski day! As an early Christmas present, Laura bought me a day pass to Breckenridge ski area. Although the powder hasn't quite hit and it's still early in the season, we had a blast. We skied every trail that was open, most of them twice. I can't wait to do this every week. I hope to hit all the big mountains at least once this season, but I'll stick to Sunlight Mountain for the majority of my time. The powder should hit any day!
I also think that I am going to have to start a tradition of going to the Vapor Caves after a long day of skiing. These natural steam rooms are the perfect way to unwind and loosen all those sore muscles. I thought I wouldn't be able to walk after skiing Breck, but the Vapor Caves took away all those aches and pains.
Through all of this fun, it's still crunch time with the dogs. I'm training the puppies more than ever; hopefully, I can start skiing with them in the next few weeks. The dog truck, plow, ATV, and snow mobile are all in the shop. Winter is coming fast and we need to be prepared!